Tigo has partnered with 17 major banks in Tanzania to enable Tigo Pesa customers, to send and receive funds to and from any bank account to and from any Tigo Pesa wallet.
At the launch of new service today, the company announced that Tigo customers will now have round the clock ability to instantly withdraw and deposit funds via Tigo Pesa to or from their bank accounts held at these 17 different banks wherever they are in Tanzania. There are currently over 3 million Tigo Pesa account holders, he said.
Tigo’s Head of Financial Services Andrew Hodgson said “The new service embodies our desire to give our customers the true experience of a digital lifestyle by enabling them to have access to their funds, whenever and wherever they are through a mobile phone. It is also helps extend financial inclusion even further.”
Customers can now even pay any Tigo Merchant directly and instantly from their bank accounts, wherever they encounter the “Lipa Hapa Kwa Tigo Pesa” and without having to first transfer the fund to their own wallet.
Prior to the introduction of this service, Tigo Pesa and partner bank customers had limited access to cash points, having to visit a bank branch or ATM to access their funds, today Tigo Pesa customer can instantly send funds from their bank account to any Tigo Pesa wallet and withdraw funds at more than 22,000 Tigo Pesa “Wakalas” nationwide
Hodgson added “By integrating mobile financial services and banking services our customers now have a faster and safer way of accessing their money removing the need to travel with large amounts of cash”
Hodgson said the partnership with the 17 banks, who comprise 80% of the market, was part of an ongoing initiative to integrate Tigo’s mobile financial services with the banking services of all commercial banks and financial institutions in the country.
